Shadows of Bias: The Hidden Strain of Microaggressions

By co-authors Anusha Kumar, Ph.D., and Amy Vigliotti, Ph.D.

“Where are you REALLY from?”

“You should smile more.”

“Don’t let your disability define you.”

We may have heard some of these in our lives, directed to us or someone else; perhaps we found ourselves saying them. These questions and statements are called microaggressions. Sometimes they can occur without ill intent; nevertheless, they often have an underlying assumption and can be dismissive and alienating.

They can reinforce negative stereotypes, belittle someone’s needs, invalidate real experiences and have a longstanding impact on people. Let’s look at how the above statements might do so:

“Where are you REALLY from?”

Source: Adrian Swancar / Unsplash

The assumption here is that because a (typically non-white) person may not “look” like they are from a specific place, it means they are not from there. This results in the feeling they must prove their “authentic nationality or heritage”, contributing to a feeling of alienation.

“You should smile more”

The assumption is that women need to be outwardly pleasant or agreeable, even if they may not feel that way and thus feel pressured into doing so.

“Don’t let your disability define you”

This suggests that a person should ignore a key aspect of their identity or lived experience, perhaps even overcome their hardship to complete a task that can be incredibly difficult as compared to able-bodied individuals.

Historically conceived as “subtle, stunning, often automatic and nonverbal exchanges” or “put downs” (Pierce et al., 1978), the term ‘microaggressions’ was revived to capture more specific racial offenses, known as racial microaggressions. They were then described as “daily verbal, behavioral or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional” (Sue et al., 2007). They might imply derogatory racial slights or insults towards people of color.

The study of microaggressions has grown rapidly and massively over the past several years to more broadly incorporate and recognize discrimination towards other systematically disadvantaged populations including women, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, etc (Wong et al., 2014; Torino et al., 2018). Thus, microaggressions are looked at as a unique form of discrimination, a psychosocial stressor and an important social determinant of health (Sue, 2010; Paradies et al., 2015).

Microaggressions can look and feel different across people, groups and communities. However, they all share one important characteristic: they can affect and negatively impact your health over time.

Source: Aiony Haust / Unsplash

Here are three notable ways they can be harmful:

1. Depression, anxiety and cumulative trauma

We may find ourselves experiencing microaggressions and then sitting with difficult feelings afterwards, sometimes uncertain of where they may have come from. This is not uncommon. Those who face more microaggressions are at greater risk for depression, anxiety, using alcohol to cope, suicidal thoughts, and lower overall psychological well-being (Blume et al., 2012; Torres et al., 2010). Additionally, microaggressions are linked to increased traumatic stress symptoms, contributing to complex trauma and even chronic stress.

Repeated exposure to microaggressions can lead to feeling on edge, easily startled, having mood swings, avoiding certain people or places, and experiencing distressing memories or intrusive symptoms that feel difficult to manage.

2. Detrimental effects on your physical health

We may begin to experience aches, pains and sickness and it may not always be easy to pinpoint their source. This too is not uncommon after consistent experiences of microaggressions which harm physical health for all who experience them (Costa et al., 2022). They are linked to chronic stress, high blood pressure, and sleep issues (Pascoe, Elizabeth & Laura, 2009). Racial microaggressions are associated with health problems, pain, low energy, and fatigue, often by suppressing immune function and flooding the body with stress hormones.

Stress is a known predictor of mental health, physical health, and chronic pain issues. Since mental and physical health are often connected through stress, the cumulative effects of microaggressions can severely impact overall well-being.

3. Lowered self-esteem, trust and confidence

Microaggressions may cause people to be hypervigilant, avoidant or anxious. They can undermine self-trust and self-confidence, compromising decision-making and relationship intimacy.

An important aspect of microaggressions is that they tend to be subtle, quick and brief; because of this, we may often doubt our own experience of them. We might convince ourselves that it was not a microaggression or that it did not happen. We may brush it off quickly without realizing how it may have affected us.

Microaggression Essential Reads

When Racial Microaggressions Harm White People, Too

Are You Being Fat-Shamed?

At times, we might internalize (accept the dominant group’s negative perceptions of us and incorporate them into our own self-image) these microaggressions and feel a sense of powerlessness or even self-hatred.

Conclusion

Over time, microaggressions may create self-doubt, feeling uncertain when setting boundaries with others; asserting or advocating for ourselves; and/or managing conflict. All these difficulties serve to worsen our mental health, daily functioning and ability to feel fulfilled in our lives.

Making judgments is natural and protective; judgements tell us about danger, desire and values. This means that it can be easy for us to make mistakes in our judgements and assumptions of others, and these mistakes can have consequences on our mental health over time. Many complex and difficult feelings can be brought up when we realize that we have committed microaggressions ourselves or when they have been done to us.

It is important we approach judgments and microaggressions from a growth mindset, through therapy, reflection or talking through experiences with trusted others. It’s vital for our mental health to understand what microaggressions we have heard over the course of our life, parse apart what we believe about them versus what we have been led to believe, explore how they may have contributed to our current circumstances and empower ourselves.

Connecting with others who may have experienced the same can help us build back trust in ourselves as well as effectively find ways and skills to help us cope in a world that is often structured to look at our marginalized identities as shortcomings. Reminder: they are part of what makes us unique, whole and wonderful.